NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ - MAY 15: Author and Professor Toni Morrison receives an Honorary Degree at the 245th Rutgers University Commencement at Rutgers Stadium on May 15, 2011 in New Brunswick, New Jersey. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images)

(credit: Jemal Countess/Getty Images)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — Thousands of Rutgers students received their diplomas during the university’s system-wide commencement ceremony.

School officials say the class of 2014 had an estimated 16,431 graduates. That includes students from the New Brunswick-Piscataway, Newark and Camden campuses and the former University of Medicine and Dentistry.

But only a few thousand of them attended Sunday’s ceremony at High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway. Most Rutgers students attend smaller graduation ceremonies within their schools and colleges, where they pick up their degrees.

University President Robert Barchi presided over Sunday’s commencement, conferring all undergraduate and graduate degrees. Former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean was the keynote speaker, while former Rutgers football player Eric LeGrand — who suffered a paralyzing injury during a game — also spoke at the event.

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